Artistcellar Blog

I don’t know about you, but I am a paper addict. I love to paint my own paper, print on paper, and make rubbings on paper. I use this paper in my art journal, on handmade cards, or in various mixed media collages.

Today I would like to share a fun technique that may help you reuse some of your favorite catalogs. One of my favorite catalogs is by Paper Source. (If you’ve never been to Paper Source, you’re missing out!) The paper in their catalog is a nice weight, and it is not glossy.

Step 1:

Loosely apply gesso on both sides (to prevent curling) of a page torn from a catalog. Let dry completely.

This will be my last post from Wisconsin! I am sad that as usual my visit has gone by so fast.

When I am home I spend a lot of time with my family and we spend a lot of time outside. The beauty of my home (to me) is unmatched and I have lived and visited many places. We are surrounded by nature and creativity runs through all of us in our own ways.

That is why I would like to show you some art from my nephew, and how he used the mineral paper I brought with me! He has a page over on facebook called Corpse cove art studios and lately he has been playing with spray paint!

These are the 3 pieces he created using spray paint and mineral paper.

He is self taught using spray paint like this, learning by watching videos on YouTube and facebook. Also another shocker, these pieces were created one week after trying this medium for the first time. His talent amazes me!

As for myself I have been enjoying the nature around me. Just as a recap, my travel supplies I used are as follows:

There is a doe on my dad's property that has twins! I have been trying to get pics but the window screens keep getting in the way, and if I open the door they scatter. So instead I decided I would paint one if the fawns, I think she turned out pretty cute!

What many people forget about this area of Wisconsin is that we have a lot of rocky bluffs sticking out in our landscape. I wanted to make a quick entry in my journal just to record the colors of the day. I love how the rocky peaks clash with the blue of the sky and the green of the woods.

Another one of my favorites in the area are the Sandhill cranes that are found all around this area with their young this time of year. I would get you a picture but last year when I tried a mad mama crane chased me in the truck for about 2 miles when I got too close to her chick. So I don't do that anymore! Lol. I wanted to get a detailed head in there and since I used my small journal I couldn't really fit any babies in.

I hope you have enjoyed my journal art as well as the amazing talent of my nephew!

“There is a distinct kind of Magic in the iridescence of a Dragonfly’s wing.”

The Dog Days of Summer are already here. I can’t help but feel as the mercurial sizzling days slip through our fingers it is a gentle reminder to be mindful and savor every moment.

A few months ago I created a prayer flag inspired by the new Artistcellar Tibet Series Stencils. As luck would have it I purchased enough chiffon to make four flags. This is the second in my series and I decided to feature the Lotus.

Once again I began by spraying a light coat of repositionable adhesive to a large piece of cardboard. I rested the chiffon with as few wrinkles as I could manage to the sticky surface. I was then ready to start stenciling. Keeping the colours to shades of pink and cream I wanted my lotus to embody the qualities of devotion and purity.

To me the Dragonfly is not only a perfect match for the Lotus, but symbolizes the exquisiteness of the season. I have loved Dragonflies endlessly. Not only are they a wonder to witness in the air, but my thoughts drift back to peaceful childhood summer mornings spent at a local creek with a friend. Dragonflies represent transformation. They guide our spiritual and emotional quest of self-realization. To see a dragonfly in flight is to grasp the magical possibilities of freedom. But to be truly free, we need to accept our unique selves. And I suppose that makes us all works in progress.

The Artistcellar stencils provide a great array of options. I selected the Petite Pods from the Playful Pods series to add to the flag. The image was perfect and continued the theme. I have long been fascinated by the iridescent colour released from dragonfly wings. So inspired I completed the design with dots of glimmering acrylics. It now flies next to the Buddha Eyes flag on the pergola.

Artistcellar stencils are inspirational. I am always discovering something new when I begin to work. The images allow me to explore and express my creativity. They encourage me to design with the same freedom we feel when seeing the shimmering flight of a dragonfly. By permitting my creativity to unfold my desire is to delve deeper, discover my unique self, always knowing I will forever be a work in progress.

I had a lot of fun with this piece. Not only did I create some art, but I made it into a functional piece as well :) I found a scrap of wood at my job and brought it home to give it some new life as art. I painted a layer of gesso and water colors on the base in: red, orange, and yellow since I wanted to do a chakra piece using: root, sacral, and solar plexus chakras.

I wanted to make the flower of life outline pop so I outlined it with a white Molotow marker.

It was pretty faint so I went over it with an oil based paint marker from Michael's and that made the white nice and bright.

I also used the chakra pocket stencils: root, sacral, and solar plexus to go in each corresponding colored section. I did them in gold ink and then outlined them in a gold marker to make the edges more sharp and defined. Next I used the chakra 2 pocket stencils to add the sanskrit characters in between the chakra stencils. I used a black paint marker, but it was so juicy the outside looked like crap.

I decided to outline it in gold to clean up the edges and tone down the harsh black.

Here is a close-up of the gold outlined characters.

Here is a shot of the entire shelf completed.

I wanted to create an awesome jewelry shelf to display my art beads jewelry so I screwed hooks onto the bottom. This shelf could also be used for things like keys or other important things that can hang from hooks. Here is what the shelf looks like with jewelry hanging from it.

One of my favorite ways to make art is with collage. While there are endless commercial papers available with which to create your collage masterpieces I also like to use papers I have decorated myself. Follow along as I create a few sheets of paper to use in a little collage.

I am using the marker paper because I have several pads of it in my studio and it needs a new purpose! It is a thinner paper and it holds color well so I believe it will do wellp

After covering the paper with my stencils I generously spray the glimmer spray over them. Then I flipped the stencils over and "stamped" the leftover ink onto the paper too. I then rearranged the stencils and sprayed again.

When the first layer was dry I used an old card and scraped the Ocean and Turquoise DWM paint onto the paper for the second layer. I like how the transparency of the paint shows the underlayer and changes some of the colors.

The final layer is gesso. With all the busyness going on I needed to bring back a neutral color. Using the same stencils and a makeup sponge I applied the gesso. Nice! This is what I am looking for!

I hope you take some time to create your own decorated papers to use in your collages. It adds more of "you" in your artwork and that is always a good thing!

Place a small amount of paint on the Gelli Plate in two or three colors. See photo above.

Step 2:

Use a plastic paint scraper, palette knife, or small brayer to spread the paint on the Gelli Plate™.

Step 3:

Place a stencil on top of the wet paint on the Gelli Plate™ and press slightly to make an imprint. TIP: Use an extra piece of paper, as you press, to protect your hands. I used the little book I made and shared in my last post here at artistcellar. You can never have too many layers in mixed media art!

Step 4:

Remove the stencil and place a 3 x 5 inch index card on the Gelli Plate™.

Rub with your hand and lift.

Step 5:

Add another color or two of paint to the Gelli Plate™. Spread paint with the plastic scraper.

Step 6:

Make an imprint with a stencil as described above.

Step 7:

Place the same index card over the new color and pull your print.

The beauty of the gel printing process is that it’s a surprise every time! If you don’t like what you see, keep printing over it!

I am here in Wisconsin visiting my family! I have been here and Minnesota for about 2 weeks and have been loving the beauty of nature up here and all the green I miss since I now live in Arizona.

My youngest sibling Xe is also an amazing artist and loves nature as much I do. We took a little day trip to a park in Minnesota called Carol park, which is on a dirt road, and has a trail that leads down to a small bubbling stream and falls.

It was so beautiful and we spent hours just sitting by the stream talking and painting. I created my piece in my large Jane journal using my Koi watercolor kit, prismacolor pencils and my white signo gel pen.

I love that with my limited supplies I was able to create something that I think shows the tranquility of the area we were sitting.

While in Minnesota I started a 2nd journal spread using the same supplies along with a black water-soluble pen, which I then finished in Wisconsin. I love creating these whimsical faces and love that the use of my 2 chakra pocket stencils sets help tie the 2 pages in the spread together and give the peaceful whimsy I was trying to create.

While at my daddies house in Wisconsin, I found a 4 leaf clover and it inspired me to create a little journal page in my small Jane journal, using my Koi watercolor kit, of clover while my dad and I were sitting and chatting.

My favorite place to go is fishing with my daddy. We have been fishing the same private cranberry Marsh since before I can remember and going there always makes my heart fill with love for my family and home.

I created this page as a reminder of how I should feel all the time. I used my "seek" pocket stencil for its boldness to catch my own eye when I page through my journal and left the rest calm and abstract.

I have created some other doodly pages but these are my favorite in the mix. This weekend I plan on pulling out my mineral paper when I spend time with my nephew Dustin, he is also an amazing artist and I know we will be creating a lot while we are together! So watch for me in 2 weeks to see the rest of my vacation art!

"This is a wonderful day. I've never seen this one before."— Maya Angelou

A purple finch is eating at the feeder near my studio window. He doesn’t seem to mind the melody of the wind chimes as the soothing breeze plays their song. The afternoon is unusually quiet. The day is perfect for celebrating the Summer Solstice.

Slowing down allows me the opportunity to be fully in the moment. Even if we have the best of intentions, so often we are distracted by the commotion of daily life. But it is when coming back to center that I experience what truly makes me grateful. And this is when creativity envelopes me like the soothing sounds of the wind chimes and lets my heart sing.

A few months ago I facilitated a journaling workshop at my local library. We each altered a 3.5” x 5.5” notebook. Our objective was to create a Gratitude Journal…a special book to keep with us throughout the year. The art produced was delightfully unique. The evening filled with laughter. The more we spoke to each other the more we realized how often we each experience fleeting moments of bliss. Now we had somewhere to keep them safe.

Here is my journal. I lightly sanded the cover and applied a quick coat of gesso. I began stenciling with Artistcellar’s Ocean Waves from the Traditional Japanese Series. Once it was dried I covered the back and spine with an assortment of acrylic paint colors. I then added bits of ephemera: a page from an old dictionary, postage stamps, trading stamps, a leaf from a poinsettia and images I found pleasing. Keeping watch at the back of the book, I stenciled the word I am most grateful for: Create. The Artistcellar Creative Words Pocket Stencil was perfect. I wanted the journal to feel “special”. I added a paper flower, altered tags, and keys to unlock my spirit of gratitude.

My Journal is filling up with all sorts of bits and pieces captured from my day…from simple observations to newspaper (yes, I still read them) clippings and ideas for new work. But all in all, I can’t help feeling a sense of wonder in the fact that joy is the essence of gratitude. And reveling in each new day is an adventure in itself.

As we change Seasons I ask you…what unlocks the joy in your life for which you are truly grateful?

I had so much fun with this latest piece. I guess I have been kind of on a yellow kick too. I really dig the nice warm happy colors in this piece. I did a TON of layering and took a lot of pics to show the transformation. Let's dive in

First off I started out with a nice variation of warm hues of: pinks, oranges, and yellows in water colors. I received the Arabian Nights series stencils and totally fell in LOVE! For the first layer I used the "Celestial " stencil which is awesome because it also has a sacred geometry shape in in like "Square Rose".

Next I did some layering with the"Shooting Stars" stencil. I used some nice purples and blues to simulate a nice sky look.

I even discovered something super cool with my hula hoop tape! I cut out some little dots with a paper punch I have. I used my heat gun and blasted then with some heat. The heat made rainbow colors appear!

Next I added some white sprays to create some opaque layers.

Then I kept adding on the layers.

I love how you can see the white spatters over the hula hoop tape dot! Here is a shot of the background before I started adding the 3D elements.

I love adding texture and 3D elements to my pieces so I used my cricut machine and cut out these BA flower of life shapes and these moroccan style stars.

I used my heat gun on the Angelina Filmto create the crinkles. Making crinkles in the film allows the light to really bounce all over the piece and create some gorgeous texture.

I call this piece "Inner Wisdom". I took so many photos to really capture all of the incredible design elements.

I was super excited my idea with layeringtexture pasteand the Angelina film turned out. The crinkly film didn't let the texture paste lay super flat, but I used a mechanical pencil tip to remove the messy parts of the paste. I then painted the texture paste with water colors, and used someViva Decor Inka Goldto add some pretty gold highlights.